The European Photovoltaic Industry Association (EPIA) says the changes will also hurt the image of Europe as a stable investment centre.
The Italian legislation retroactively modifies the way FITs will be paid as of January 2015 to existing PV installations, meaning that system owners, who were granted tariffs for 20 years under the "Conto Energia" mechanism, now have to choose from one of three options:
- A 17-25% reduction of the incentive over 24 years;
- a 5-9% reduction of the incentive paid over the initially agreed period of 20 years.
